**For
Immediate Release**Thanks Jerry and Curt for Great Seasonsby Aggie Sports on 03/06/06

Goodwell, Okla.- Two years ago, the men’s
and women’s
basketball seasons closed with the Oklahoma Panhandle State
teams winning a combined total of four games. With the goal
of turning both programs around, the school hired two experience
coaches during the off-season.

Curt Connor, then head coach at Triton
Junior College in Ill., was named the men’s coach. Jerry Olson was selected to
head the women’s program. Olson, an assistant coach in
the successful men’s basketball program at Montana State,
had served as the Lady Aggie coach a decade earlier and led
the team to several successful seasons.

With the new head coaches at the helm in the 2004-2005 season,
the excitement of winning returned to Oscar Williams Fieldhouse
as both teams finished strong and qualified for the Heartland
Conference post-season tournaments. The Lady Aggies finished
with an 8-20 overall record, and the Aggies posted a 9-19 mark.

In the 2005-2006 campaign, both teams
succeeded in improving their records. Olson led the Lady
Aggies to a 15-14 mark, and the Aggies went 10-18 in Connor’s second year. Each team
advanced to the conference tournament. The men lost in the
semi-finals to Montana State-Billings, 80-67. The Lady Aggies
went to the Heartland Conference finals, but lost a tough game
to St. Mary’s, 69-64.

The combined home court record for the teams was 18-6 this
year.

The two-year upward climb featured leadership from several
dedicated young women. The seniors in the Lady Aggie program
are Bridgett Boykin, Laura Wilson, Brandi Lewis, Michelle Kennedy,
and Diana Garduno.

Thanks to all the members of the OPSU basketball teams for
a fun year, and special thanks to the seniors for their hard
work and dedication. Thanks to Jerry Olson and Curt Connor
for bringing exciting college basketball back to OPSU.

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All Rights Reserved. Copyright Oklahoma Panhandle State University 2005
Developed by: Michal Stachowski